New method to detect high-risk glaucoma patients

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New method to detect high-risk glaucoma patients
Eye Care

A scientific method of identifying glaucoma patients at high risk for rapid deterioration and blindness has been developed by a researcher at Montreal’s Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital.

The breakthrough is the culmination of five years of work by Dr. Mark Lesk and his team who investigated the causes of glaucoma, an eye disease that leads to a loss of visual field and which can lead to blindness.

Dr. Lesk is Head of Vision Health Research at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Montreal.

An insidious disease

Five million North Americans suffer from glaucoma. Approximately half of these are unaware that they have the disease because it usually causes no symptoms until late in its course.

The results of Dr Lesk’s study, published in the journal Archives of Ophthalmology, sheds new light on the cause of glaucoma and opens the door to the development of better methods for screening and treatment of the disease, which affects more than two per cent of the population, or one in 50, over 40 years of age.

For the first time it is possible to identify glaucoma patients likely to show rapid deterioration of vision. "Once identified, patients with glaucoma that is likely to progress rapidly could be targeted for more aggressive or alternate therapies in order to prevent blindness," explains Dr. Lesk.

The optic nerve

Glaucoma, the second cause of vision loss and blindness worldwide, damages the optic nerve, which transmits vision from the retina to the brain. Lesk and his team discovered that the flexibility of a structure within the optic nerve, called the lamina cribrosa, is a major factor associated with elevated risk of development and deterioration of glaucoma. The flexibility of the lamina cribrosa may also explain abnormalities of blood flow within the optic nerve, a problem which contributes to glaucoma.

"With the aid of tomographic imaging instruments [which take X-rays of ‘slices’ of an object] it is now possible to measure the flexibility of key parts of the optic nerve and thus to screen for glaucoma patients at elevated risk of losing vision rapidly. Once these patients are identified, treatment options can be offered before the glaucoma damage to the eye increases and more vision is irreparably lost," says Lesk.

CNIB is a nationwide, community-based, registered charity committed to research, public education and vision health for all Canadians. CNIB provides the services and support necessary for people to enjoy a good quality of life while living with vision loss. To find out more, visit us at www.cnib.ca or call 1-800-563-2642.